Growing Up Granger
by randolph churchill
Summary: A chance meeting sends Harry's upbringing in a very different direction.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Sometimes inspiration just strikes and you've got to get it done somewhere.

Growing Up Granger

20 September 1977

Petunia was not going to cry. She absolutely was _not_.

She'd been sitting at her table for over two hours now, waiting for him to show up. The restaurant was lovely –expensive and classy, full of candles. She'd read the menu dozens of times and every time the food had sounded delicious. The moment she saw the inside she knew that it would be the perfect venue for a romantic dinner for two. The perfect setting for a first date.

Apparently Vernon Dursley thought otherwise. He'd seemed so nice when she met him at a party a few weeks ago. He was handsome and charming and he seemed to think the world of her. What's more he'd gone to Smeltings Academy, an old and respected public school so he clearly had money yet he'd been interested in her, when she'd grown up in a little industrial town. At the time he'd seemed too good to be true but why hadn't he shown up? Why would he go to so much trouble to book a table at an expensive restaurant only to refuse to turn up?

He'd assured her over the phone that he didn't have to work and he didn't have any other plans. Perhaps he'd been caught in traffic? Even so he'd been taking an awfully long time. Perhaps he'd just forgotten about her. Or perhaps he'd met another girl he liked more and couldn't be bothered to tell her.

After another half an hour of waiting she finally gave in to the requests of the waiters and ordered her meal. By the time she'd finished it there was still no sign of Vernon. When she paid the bill she stormed out of the restaurant and into the cold London night.

It really wasn't fair. If Vernon had been on a date with Lily there was no chance in hell he'd have stood her up. Lily had always been better than her-everybody thought so, even her parents (although they'd always claim otherwise). From the moment Lily was born she'd been second best. Lily had the brains, Lily had the looks, and she even had those freakish powers of hers that mum and dad thought were so wonderful. What did she have that could compete with that?

She held out her hand to summon a taxi to take her back home. She was so focused upon her task that she failed to notice the man heading in her direction until it was too late.

He bumped straight into her, knocking her right off her feet. When he'd recovered his own footing he held out a hand to help her to her feet, which she begrudgingly took. "Will you watch where you're going please!" she shouted at him. "Sorry" he replied "wasn't looking where I was going, too focused on the adverts". He looked a bit older than her but his dress sense seemed considerably older. In his glasses and tweed he looked like a lecturer. Probably goes to Oxbridge, she though bitterly- yet another person who'd achieved more than she ever would.

"Are you alright" he asked. "Yes" she lied. He pressed the issue "are you sure? You don't look alright". "I'm fine" she snapped and he shut up after that. A minute later a taxi finally pulled over for her "where are you going" he asked. "Islington" she replied. He gave her a surprised looked and said "really? That's where I'm going too". An unspoken question seemed to linger in the air, as the taxi driver grew ever more impatient. Finally she sighed and decided to answer it. She could do with some company and he at least seemed to care about her wellbeing. "Alright" she said "get in the taxi".

As they were speeding away he turned to her and asked "so-what is your name then?" "Petunia" she replied. "Hello Petunia" he said "my name's Henry. Henry Granger". He smiled at her. Perhaps this evening wasn't going to be such a waste after all.

Author's Note: So there you have it folks, the first chapter. I'm going somewhere with this, although I'm not quite sure where yet. This is based on the old cliché of having Harry be raised by the Grangers, although I'm hoping to go somewhere new and interesting with it. I can promise you one thing though- this story is not going to be a Harry/Hermione story. I don't think that pairing makes much sense in canon and it'll make even less sense when they're brother and sister. There will be no evil/stupid Ron or Manipulative Dumbledore in here either, so prepare to be disappointed if you're a fan of either. Fell free to read and review.


	2. Chapter 1

It had been four years since Henry and Petunia had first met on that cold night in September and quite a lot had changed since then. For one thing they'd left the big city for the quiet suburbs of Winchester. For another Henry had completed his studies and become a dentist. And last but not least, they were married now.

Their life was, in many respects a completely normal one. They had a nice house, a car and a little baby girl named Hermione, who they thought was sure to grow up to be the best and the cleverest person there ever was. And on this particular morning there was even less reason to believe that anything unusual was going to happen than there normally was. No special events were planned, nothing important was in the news and the weather was dismally cold and grey.

The only unusual thing that they were connected to in any way was the Potters. The Potters were their relatives, Petunia's sister, her husband and their baby son. The Potters were involved in many unusual things that neither Granger could discuss in public without fear of being sectioned. Petunia and her sister had a long running feud which shocked Henry in its length and viciousness. It had been very difficult to persuade Petunia to attempt to make amends but he'd worked on it for a while. Nobody should have such a hatred of their own flesh and blood.

It seemed to have worked, at least for now. Petunia was never going to be close to her sister- too much had passed between them for that. Nevertheless they were on reasonably cordial terms and both couples had attended the others wedding and received the usual assortment of birthday and Christmas cards. They hadn't heard from the Potters in a long time- they'd run into some serious trouble and had to go into hiding.

Still the Potters were the furthest thing from his mind as he climbed down the stars to start his day. He greeted Petunia warmly, he played with Hermione and marvelled at her continued development and finally he sat down to eat his breakfast and read the paper. What he saw in the paper did not meet with his approval "unemployment up again!" he griped "bloody Tories! They don't care about the working man Petunia, not one jot". "Yes dear, you're quite right" replied Petunia rather absentmindedly as she bent to feed Hermione. When he'd finished his breakfast Henry kissed his wife and his daughter goodbye and went off to work. If he'd left a little earlier, he might have noticed the parliament of owls flying over his house.

The first sign that that day might turn out to be a little stranger than he thought was when he turned the corner and saw a cat reading a map. Naturally this struck him as a very strange occurrence but he was too busy driving to go and investigate. And truth be told it seemed to him that there was a perfectly rational explanation for this – someone had dropped a map of the street on the floor and the cat had happened to be nearby. He had a little laugh and continued on his way.

Once he arrived at the dentist's he settled down and got to work. He dealt with several patients, none of whom required anything more difficult than a filing. It was while he was making small talk with his latest patient that he received his second sign. "It's been an awfully funny day today hasn't it" said the patient with an unseemly cheerfulness. "Really?" replied Henry "I've not noticed anything strange". "Why you must have been living under a rock!" exclaimed the patient "we've got swarms of owls about in broad daylight, weirdos with cloaks running around everywhere and I've heard tell that something really weird happened in the Cotswolds". His words gave Henry enough pause that he forgot to start the procedure until the patient reminded him. Owls? Cloaks? This was starting to sound an awful lot like what the Potters were involved in. He'd have to talk to Petunia when he got home.

It was while he was on his lunchbreak, walking across to the sandwich shop when he saw the wizard. There was a man walking across the street, wearing a black cloak with robes underneath. Henry had been to the Potter's wedding – he knew the kind of clothes they wore. He walked up to the man, hoping to get some answers. "Excuse me" he said "I was wondering if you could tell me-" but before he could finish his sentence the man bolted and ran across to the next street. Henry could find no sign of him there but that was to be expected.

Henry arrived home to find the same cat lying around the pavement. He looked at it with a suspicious eye –hadn't Lily said that one of her teachers could turn into a cat?

When he got in he did what he usually did- he greeted Hermione and Petunia and they ate tea together. Petunia told him that Joanna and Tim from next door were having a row and Hermione had learned a new word -"read". It was only when the evening news came on, filled with stories about owls and shooting stars that he felt confident enough to raise the subject.

"Petunia" he said "have you heard from Lily lately?" "No" she replied "the last I heard from her was Harry's birthday and that was months ago. We haven't been able to talk since this horrible business with that madman started". Henry tried to think of what to say next. He didn't want to alarm her but it seemed as if something big was happening and he'd rather not go into such a situation ignorant. After a few minutes of thinking he responded "it's just –all those things happening today, they sound like something to do with their kind of people".

"I know what you mean" replied Petunia "I've been thinking about it all day. What if all this is because something awful has happened? I heard them talk they said they were fighting a war…. And what about little Harry? " I'm sure they'll be fine " replied Henry with a confidence he didn't really feel "I'm sure things would be a lot more sombre if something bad had happened and those Order people really seem like they know what they're doing"

"I hope you're right" said Petunia "but it's too late now to do anything. We'll have to see if we can find out in the morning". And so they went to bed, unaware of just how right they were.

Henry Granger had been asleep for several hours when a very peculiar man arrived on his street, carrying the answers to all his questions. But that's a story for another time.

 **Author's Note: Not much to say about this one. I skipped Harry being dropped off because I figured it'd be more or less the same as canon, apart from McGonagall being less reluctant. Again, feel free to read and review.**


	3. Chapter 2

Authors Note: **The names of Harry's friends are a reference to something. A metaphorical cookie to the first one to get it.**

It was a warm, pleasant morning in July and the clocks were striking eleven. Sunlight drifted through the street where the Granger's house lay, slowly increasing in warmth and light.

To the casual observer it might seem as if it had only been a day or so since the strange and confusing events of that day in November. After all, much of the house seemed entirely the same, especially on the outside. But they would be wrong for it had been ten years since then and a closer look would soon show that much had changed. The carpet was a different colour, Henry had a new car and several more books had been added to the bookcase. But the biggest change had been to the mantelpiece.

Ten years ago there had been two photograph on the mantelpiece – a picture of Henry and Petunia's wedding and one of baby Hermione. These pictures were still there but a great many others had been added since. For one there was another photo of a baby –but one would not have to take a closer look to see that it was not a picture of Hermione. No, this was a picture of a baby boy, with a very distinctive scar on his forehead, in the shape of a lightning bolt. Many other pictures of the boy, at various ages and in various situation could be found throughout the house. There were pictures of him going to school, riding a bike and eating birthday cake. There were almost as many pictures of him as there were of Hermione.

The boy in question was named Harry Potter and he woke with a start. He looked up to see the face of his aunt looking back at him. "Come on now Harry" she said "you've been asleep all morning. If you don't get out now you'll miss the sunshine". Harry just grunted and rolled over. He'd been having such a nice dream.

Harry was a small, skinny boy of eleven years with messy black hair and green eyes. He didn't look much like the rest of the family and of course he didn't have the same last name, so it had been obvious to him from an early age that the Grangers weren't really his parents. Still Uncle Henry and Aunt Petunia had always treated him as one of their own so he didn't really mind very much, apart from when the anniversary of his parent's death came around every year. Plus he was fairly sure he wouldn't have had a sister if he'd stayed with his parents and he thought that would be a shame (although getting him to admit that out loud would be rather difficult).

Harry really didn't know much about his parents. He knew that they died when he was a baby, at the same time he got his scar but he didn't know how or why. When he pressed Aunt Petunia on the subject she said that it was a story not fit for young ears and he'd learn when he was old enough. He'd been waiting quite a long time. He knew that his mum had been Aunt Petunia's sister but it was hard to get her to talk about the subject. She tended to clam up quite quickly. Uncle Henry hadn't known his parents very well but he said that Harry looked very much like his dad.

As Harry got dressed, he tried to remember his dream. He was sure it involved a flying motorbike but the details escaped him. What had actually happened? There might be something about a beard but it was all very vague. Oh well, it was sure to come back to him sooner or later. Besides something about the dream seemed familiar. He was sure he'd had it before, more than once.

Harry opted to head to the kitchen. It was too late for breakfast but it was just about the right time for lunch. When he arrived Uncle Henry and Aunt Petunia were there but there was no sign of Hermione. Uncle Henry was reading a book and Aunt Petunia was dusting the tabletop. Uncle Henry looked up from his book and spoke.

"Ah, good afternoon Harry. So glad you could join us"

"Afternoon Uncle Henry" Harry replied "Where's Hermione? I've barely seen her all week"

"She's still in her room I think, Harry dear" said Aunt Petunia "what happened on Tuesday seems to have really frightened her. I've tried talking to her but she won't have any of it. I think you'd better go up and talk to her, tell her you're alright".

Harry suddenly felt a jolt of realisation. He'd almost forgotten what had happened on Tuesday.

Harry had been very bored all summer. All of his friends – Chris, Alfie, Mike and Dave had gone away on holiday and they didn't look they'd be back anytime soon. There'd been nothing much worth watching on TV since Doctor Who had been cancelled and not a lot on at the cinema since Batman. He liked reading but not as much as Hermione and there was only so much of it he could get through in a day before it began to get more than a little dull. So for the past few days he'd taken up a new hobby: annoying Hermione.

His sister was easy to irritate and when she was irritated she had the funniest reactions. She crossed her arms, sighed loudly and muttered "honestly" under her breath. She got even more annoyed when he imitated her annoyance. But it seemed that on Tuesday he'd gone a little too far because while she was insisting he give her book back to her she waved her hand angrily. Somehow (Harry couldn't work out for the life of him how) this had caused a gust of wind to appear from nowhere and knock him flat on his back. Since he landed on soft carpet he hadn't been hurt but it was quite a shock nevertheless.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Ever since he could remember strange things had happened when Harry was scared or angry. There was one occasion where he'd narrowly escaped being in the path of an oncoming car by suddenly being on the other side of the street. On another occasion he'd been doing a very difficult test in school when suddenly it burst into flames. Whenever these things happened he always heard his aunt and uncle talking about it in hushed tones afterwards. He was sure it had to have happened to Hermione before because he'd heard them talking in that way even when he hadn't done anything. Whenever he tried to eavesdrop he couldn't hear most of the conversation but one word seemed to come up again and again – "Dumbledore". Harry had no idea what a Dumbledore was- the only thing he could find in Uncle Henry's dictionary was that it was an old word for Bumblebee.

Harry walked up Hermione's room and knocked on the door. He received no answer. He knocked again and received a curt "go away".

"Come on Hermione" he said "it's really no problem. I'm fine. You didn't hurt me". Hermione muttered something under her breath he couldn't hear and suspected he didn't really want to. He decided he'd better change the subject "look" he said "I'm sorry I was so annoying. It was my own fault for being so rude. I won't do it again I promise".

He got a response after that. She came bounding out of the room, her bushy blonde hair swaying. She walked up to him and hugger him round the middle. Harry was not altogether pleased with this but he thought it was best not to spoil the moment. "Oh Harry" she said "let's not fight anymore. I don't want to do… whatever that was again"

They spent the rest of the day together, playing and reading. Harry was glad to spend more time with her – they'd been very close when they were little but they seemed to have drifted apart as they grew older. Hermione didn't have nearly as many friends as he did- at times she seemed more interested in books than people and he knew her parents worried about her. It was good for her, they said, to get some company.

The next morning Aunt Petunia made sure he didn't sleep in nearly as long as he had the last time. As he sat next to Hermione, munching on his Cornflakes, he saw Aunt Petunia come and get today's letters from the front door. There was nothing unusual about this- it happened every day of the week apart from Sundays. What was unusual was when, a minute later she suddenly cried out.

"Henry, he's got a letter just like Lily! And there's one for Hermione too!"

Author's Note: **This chapter was just to give you a feel of what Harry's life with the Grangers is like before we move on to the momentous revelations of the Wizarding World. Obviously it's a lot nicer than life with the Dursley's but the effects aren't all positive. Notice for instance that the way Harry behaves in the backstory is considerably brattier than canon Harry. This is because extra confidence isn't always a good thing, especially when the person in question is an eleven year old boy. I promise you that Harry won't be insufferable during the main body of the story.**

 **Some of my more eagle-eyed viewers may notice that I mention Hermione having blonde hair in this chapter. This is not because I thought the third chapter was a good time to jump the shark but because I thought it was a little silly to have her be absolutely identical to her canon self when half of her DNA is different. She probably looks a little different in a few, more minor areas as well. Don't panic though- while her upbringing means she won't be completely identical to how she is in canon, the core of the Hermione Granger we all know and love will remain the same.**


	4. Chapter 3

Uncle Henry quickly rose to his feet and bounded towards the door. "Let me see" he muttered under his breath. Harry and Hermione looked at each other in confusion. What about these letters was so interesting? And why would anybody be writing to them in the first place? A simple postcard from Harry's friends could hardly cause such a fuss. Maybe the school was writing to them. Yes, that had to be it. Perhaps something had gone wrong with their SATs. Harry still had no idea what his mother had to do with that though.

After a minute or two of heated discussion, his aunt and uncle moved into the living room and then back into the kitchen. Aunt Pet6unia held a letter in each hand "Harry, Hermione , you'd better take a look at these" she said " I promise you, you won't believe it until you see for yourselves and even then you'll find it hard". She handed them their letter.

Harry looked at the letter. It wasn't much like any other letter he'd ever seen before. Instead of paper it was made up of a yellowish parchment. Instead of a stamp there was a wax seal displaying some sort of crest- a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake gathered around the letter H. It didn't even feel right- it was too thick and too heavy, thicker and heavier even then the bills that sometimes came in the post. On the front, handwritten in green ink were the words

Mr H Potter

The bedroom on the left-hand side of the bathroom

17 Baldwin Avenue

Winchester

Hampshire

Harry suddenly felt a stab of worry in his stomach. How did these people, whoever they were, know where he slept? Were they watching the house? He looked up at his aunt and uncle, who beckoned him to continue. Hermione was already trying to open the letter as carefully and precisely as she could. Harry was less careful- he simply ripped open the envelope, took the letter out and began reading. What he saw was the most astonishing thing he had ever seen in all of his young life.

The letter said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr Potter

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry looked at the letter, then down at the floor and then at the letter again. Surely he hadn't read it right. The letter seemed to be saying that he'd been asked to join a school for wizards, who wanted him to give them an owl so they'd know he was going. Was this some sort of joke? Harry decided to read the next page of the letter. Perhaps it would explain everything, although Harry certainly couldn't think of any explanation himself.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic

by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory

by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration

by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions

by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

No, it definitely hadn't helped. Harry just felt more confused than ever. He turned to his aunt and uncle to say something but he didn't seem to be able to make words. His mouth simply opened and closed like a goldfish. Hermione had no such difficulty.

"Honestly mum and dad, this is all very silly. Why are you so worried about someone's childish idea of a joke? Magic is a load of nonsense, everyone knows that"

Harry very much wanted to agree with Hermione. The only way this made was if somebody was playing a prank on them. But this was an awfully long way to go for a prank. Who would go to so much trouble for a joke and why did his aunt and uncle seem to take it so seriously? Then there was the name of the Headmaster. Dumbledore, the word that always seemed to come up whenever something strange happened. Could it be…?

Uncle Henry turned to Aunt Petunia and said "do you want to tell them or shall I?"

"I'd better tell them" she said "it's all to do with me anyway"

"Harry, Hermione sit down. I'm going to tell you everything but please don't ask any questions until I'm finished"

"Twenty years ago, Harry's mother got a letter just like these ones. We thought it was a joke too but before long we had proof. Your mother went to that school and she met your father there. They were wizards Harry and so are you"

She turned to look straight at Harry and gave him a smile. Then she turned away to look directly at Hermione.

"We knew that Harry had magic when we took him in but we never expected you to have any, Hermione. But when you grew older and started to make strange things happen, just like Harry did, we knew that you were magic too. Think about what you did on Tuesday. Is there any way that could have happened without magic?"

"There are magic people all over the country and all over the world. They've got some way of hiding themselves, I don't know how. Everything I know about magic comes from Lily and we didn't speak that often. For a long time we'd fallen out with each other and when we made up there were …. other problems"

The whole family stood in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity but was probably only a couple of seconds. It was Harry who spoke first. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" he demanded. Harry found that his blood was beginning to boil and his heart was starting to beat faster. All these years he'd lived with them and they'd lied to him about who he really was.

Hermione spoke up in agreement "yes, why would you keep something so important from us? We had a right to know. It terrified us, every time something we couldn't explain happened"

Both of the Granger shuffled uncomfortably and looked at each other. It was Henry who spoke "you have to understand, we were scared. Scared about what might happen if we told you while you were so young. What if you'd told someone at school and they told a teacher? You'd have been institutionalised for sure. We couldn't risk that happening".

Harry had only one more question "what happened to my parents, was that … to do with magic?

There was another awkward pause before Petunia answered "there was a war Harry. Some madman was trying to take over something and everybody else was trying to stop him. You're mum and dad stood in his way and he, he killed them for it. I'm sorry Harry. I wish I could have told you sooner"

Uncle Henry spoke again. "I think we'd better take some time to let you think over all this. You've got a lot to take in. We can resume this conservation later".

It was a few hours later when Harry heard a knock on the door. He got up from his bed a looked out of the window to see a wizard on the doorstep. Harry rushed downstairs and arrived at the door just in time to see his aunt and uncle letting the stranger in. The man looked around and then spoke.

"Hello to you, Dr Granger, Mrs Granger" he said "it's good to see you in the flesh at last"

Harry knew that the man was a wizard because he could not have made it more obvious if he had had the words 'I am a wizard' written on his clothing in big red letters. He was tall, thin and old, with a great white beard that reached almost to his belly. A pair of half-moon spectacles were perched on the edge of his long, crooked nose. Even his clothes were very much what one would expect a wizard to be wearing – purple robes and a pointy cloth hat.

The man looked around until he saw Harry "hello Harry" he said "my, you've grown. But then I suppose that is to expected after eleven years"

"You know me?" said Harry in a surprised voice. He was sure that he would remember meeting somebody like this before.

"I did indeed Harry. But I did not know you for very long and that was an awfully long time ago. It was I, Harry who left you on your aunt and uncle's doorstep when you were a baby"

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts. I wish to discuss with you and Miss Granger the shape of your education and to answer any questions you may have. Now, if you would like to show me to the living room, I believe we have a great deal to talk about"

Harry and Dumbledore led the way into the living room. Uncle Henry called up the stairs to Hermione, while Aunt Petunia eyed Dumbledore warily. When they were all sat down, Dumbledore spoke again "now, I assume you have some questions?"

Uncle Henry spoke first "yes, I've got a few. Is it usual for the headmaster himself to come and tell students about the school? In my experience Headmasters are usually too bust for that sort of thing"

"No, it is rather unusual" said Dumbledore "These things are normally handled by the child's parents or by my deputy, Professor McGonagall. However because the circumstances here are rather unusual I have decided to take on the role myself. I hope that you will find me adequate"

Harry found this rather peculiar. Was there such a thing as usual circumstances at a school for wizards?

Aunt Petunia looked as if she was about to say something but Hermione beat her to the punch "can you _really_ do magic" she said suspiciously. Harry wasn't sure if she believed what she'd been told or not but he was leaning towards the latter option.

Dumbledore just smiled and said "I certainly can, Miss Granger. Would you like to see some?"

"Yes" she replied and then Dumbledore did something incredible. He drew out an ornate stick from the pocket of his robes (a magic wand, Harry realised) and pointed it at the bookcase. Suddenly the bookcase had vanished and in its place lay a small lamb, bleating furiously. Dumbledore drew his wand again and pointed it at the lamb and suddenly it was a bookcase again. "Does this satisfy you?" he asked with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Harry was beyond shocked. It was one thing to know that magic existed in the abstract but quite another to see it performed in front of his face. What he'd just seen was completely and utterly impossible. A part of him screamed that this was wrong and no good could come going against nature like this. Another, much larger part of him wondered if one day he might be able to do that and much more besides.

Dumbledore took advantage of the silence to ask a question of his own "might I take Harry aside for a moment? I've something to discuss with him that would be best said in private". Aunt Petunia nodded and Harry led Dumbledore upstairs towards his bedroom. Harry wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to be alone with Dumbledore but the man seemed pleasant enough, even if he was very odd.

"Harry, how much do you know about your parents?" he said softly.

Harry replied "not much-only that they're dead" that came out harsher than he intended "I mean they were wizards and they got into a war with somebody and when I was a baby he..." the rest of the words didn't seem to want to come out.

"Yes, that is true" said Dumbledore "would you like to hear the whole story?" Harry nodded.

"Very well. Be warned however that it is not a very happy story. If you wish for me to stop at any point, please say so"

"Around ten years before your birth Harry, an evil wizard emerged from the shadows. His name was Lord Voldemort. He became one of the most powerful wizards in the world and he gathered an army of followers who were just as wicked as he. He sought to control all that he could and what he could not control, he sought to destroy".

"He was so powerful and his wrath was so terrible that many today are still too afraid to say his name, a practice which you will not, I hope follow. Nevertheless there were those who stood against him. I was one of them- your parents were another".

"Your parents were talented at magic and they were powerful foes of his. They were among the very few who fought him directly and yet lived. Perhaps this is why he wanted them dead- Voldemort hated anybody who showed him that he was not all powerful. In any case, one night, when you were a baby, he came to the house where your parents lived and attacked. Your mother and father fought bravely but alas, they were no match for him. When he had killed your parents he set his sights on you"

"And then a curious thing happened. Your mother had died trying to protect you. In doing so she committed an act of great love. Love is one of the most powerful of all magical forces and her death left you with a great protection. When Voldemort attempted to kill you he triggered this protection and he was destroyed. It was this that gave you your scar, Harry. To this day the wizarding world calls you the one who destroyed Voldemort. You are a hero to many, Harry"

Harry felt his eyes start to get damp and Dumbledore suddenly became very interested in one of Harry's books. When he had dried up he realised the true implications of Dumbledore's words. "I'm famous? People think I'm a hero? But I didn't do anything, I don't even remember it! Why am I the hero and not my mum?"

Dumbledore replied "Harry, the truth of what happened is not very widely known. To many of our kind, your survival seems inexplicable. It does not do to dwell on what people think and expect of you Harry. If you do not think yourself worthy of such praise, then I would encourage you to bring yourself to a point when you will be worthy. Now, I do not think we should keep your aunt and uncle waiting any longer"

Harry and Dumbledore went back down the stairs and into the living room. Dumbledore spoke again "I wish to know whether I have your permission for your daughter and your nephew to attend Hogwarts"

Aunt Petunia opened her mouth to speak.

Authors Note: **Gee, I wonder what the answer will be?.**

 **This chapter is mostly exposition but I've tried to give it some heart.**


	5. Chapter 4

"Yes, for the time being" she said "but I can't give an answer for definite yet. There's a lot I'd like to know about your school"

"Feel free to ask me anything Mrs Granger" replied Dumbledore "I assure you that nobody knows Hogwarts better than I do"

She replied "if my daughter and my nephew go to this school of yours, can you guarantee their safety? I remember what happened to Lily and I'll be damned if I let the same thing happen to my children"

"I cannot absolutely guarantee their safety. One is never truly safe, no matter what precautions one takes. But I ask you to remember Mrs Granger that when your sister came to my school we were in the midst of a war. And I am proud to say that throughout all those dark years, not once did it spread to the place where I teach. I assure you that things are considerably safer these days"

Uncle Henry spoke next "what exactly will they be learning at this school of yours? What courses are there?

"Hogwarts is a school of magic Mr Granger and it is magic that is taught there. We teach our students everything they will need to know to gain a well-"

Henry interrupted him "what about things that aren't magic? Are there any Maths classes, any English classes?"

If Dumbledore was annoyed at being interrupted, he didn't show it. Instead he spoke in the same calm voice as before "we expect our students to have a basic knowledge of numeracy and literacy before they come attend. That is all that will be required for most careers in the Wizarding World. Should any of our students wish to gain additional qualifications in these areas than several remedial courses are available "

Uncle Henry didn't look as if Dumbledore's words had inspired fury in him but he didn't look entirely content either. He moved back into his seat, apparently lost in thought. Harry still couldn't tell if he would be allowed to go.

He didn't really know if he wanted to go. He'd be leaving his friends behind and going to a new school where nobody would know him. The thought of being alone in an alien place was not very appealing. On the other hand -magic. Real, actual magic. What sort of amazing things would he be able to do? Would he be able to read minds, turn into animals, change the weather. Would he be able to fly?

That dream he'd had about the flying motorbike-was it a dream or a memory? He concentrated and tried to remember as far back as he could. A picture appeared in his head- a flash of green light and a high, cold laugh. Harry shivered.

His concentration was broken by Aunt Petunia's voice. "what will happen to them if they don't go to your school?"

"They must undergo some form of magical education. I cannot stress this enough. A wizard or witch with no control over or understanding of their powers is a danger to themselves and to all those around them. Children who do not go to Hogwarts must either be home-schooled or sent to other magical schools. You cannot teach your children yourselves because you have no magic but it would be possible for us to arrange a tutor for them. I would note, however that all examinations must still take place at Hogwarts. Should you choose to send your children to a different school it would have to be one abroad. Hogwarts is the only magical school in Britain."

Uncle Henry sigh and said "fine. They're going. If Petunia is alright with it"

Aunt Petunia sensing that all eyes were now upon her said simply "okay"

Surprisingly, it was Hermione who spoke next "excuse me, but do Harry and I not get a say? We might not want to go!"

Dumbledore chuckled "Miss Granger, I hope you shall be less inclined to speak out of turn at Hogwarts. But it is good to meet someone who wishes to think for themselves. Do you wish to go to Hogwarts? "

Hermione hesitated for a moment before saying in an unsure voice "I suppose, it would be nice to learn something new. And there must be so books that aren't around in the normal world. So yes I'd like to go."

"Quite right Miss Granger. You will find that Hogwarts has one of the largest magical libraries in Europe. And what about you Harry?"

He didn't have much of a choice to make "if Hermione's going then I'm going too"

Dumbledore smiled "good" he said "now that we are all agreed, it is customary at this stage for the prospective students to be taken to get the items required at Hogwarts. This will require a trip to London, where the items in question are sold. I suggest that we leave immediately".

"Now hold on a minute" said Aunt Petunia "how much is this going to cost us"

"You needn't worry Mrs Granger" Dumbledore replied "Hogwarts will take care of all of your daughter's expenditures. As for your nephew, he has money of his own"

"He has?" said Henry and Petunia in unison

"I have?" said Harry. He wondered why anything even surprised him anymore. He'd had an awful lot of shocking revelations in one day.

"Yes, Harry's father was from an old and wealthy family and he left Harry and his money in his will, to be taken once he is of age" Dumbledore explained "Now I must ask you to make haste. It is already in the afternoon and I fear that we may not achieve much if we delay any longer"

"It'll take a fair while to get to London" said Uncle Henry "But I expect you wizards have ways of dealing with that?"

"We have indeed" said Dumbledore "but first I must ask you to lock up and then head back to the living room. We can reach our destination from their"

Henry looked at first as if Dumbledore had grown three heads but then sighed and locked the front door. Aunt Petunia locked the upstairs windows and then the back door.

When everyone was gathered in the living room again Dumbledore reached into his robes and produced a glass bottle. "This is a Portkey" he said "it will take us where we need to go. Now, everybody grab hold of it"

They all did as he asked them, although harry felt very foolish. Judging from the looks on his family's faces he was not the only one. After a few seconds Harry felt the Portkey begin.

It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It felt as if he was bait caught on a fishing hook, being forcibly dragged ever higher. His surrounding were an ever changing array of lights and colours. Only the bottle remained solid and Harry clung to it as if it were a part of him.

Finally the movement stopped and Harry found himself lying in a heap on a wooden floor, along with the rest of his family. Dumbledore had landed on his feet somehow and was beckoning them forward. As Harry looked around he saw that he was in pub. What's more he was in a very crowded pub, full of people dressed like Dumbledore-in cloaks and robes, some with pointy hats. Harry began to feel a little nervous. He was famous here- what if somebody recognised him?

"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron" said Dumbledore "this is the gateway to the Wizarding World. Later I will show you how to access it from Muggle London"

"Muggle?" Hermione said "What's a Muggle?"

"A Muggle is what we wizards call those who do not have magic" he walked up to the bar "good afternoon Tom" he said to the barman, who was very bald and very toothless.

"Good afternoon yourself Professor Dumbledore" Tom replied "haven't seen you around here for a while. Sure I can't interest you in a drink of something?"

"No thank you Tom" said Dumbledore "I 'm afraid I'm here on rather urgent Hogwarts business"

"That's a little unusual don't you think, professor?" said an unfamiliar voice "I was under the impression that Professor McGonagall dealt with the Muggleborns"

The source of the voice was a middle aged blonde woman. Caked in makeup with her hair done up in elaborate curls. At the end of her hands were long, scarlet nails. In one hand she held a notebook and in the other a quill.

When Dumbledore spoke his voice had an edge to it that Harry had not heard before "I was not aware that Hogwarts policy was any of your concern Rita"

Rita replied "it is rather strange and my readers like strange stories. I think they'll be very interested in why you are escorting a boy who looks like James Potter to Diagon Alley"

Petunia shrieked "I'll thank you to leave my nephew alone!" Uncle Henry had a face like thunder.

Dumbledore smiled "Go home Rita, I fear you're outmatched" Shortly afterward he led them along the pub until they came to a brick wall. He reached out to the brick wall with his wand and tapped it three times. A tiny hole appeared in the wall and slowly grew bigger and bigger until it was a huge archway. Beyond the archway was an enormous cobbled street. Dumbledore spoke.

" welcome to Diagon Alley"


	6. Chapter 5

Diagon Alley was quite unlike any place that Harry had ever seen before. That it was a place of magic was immediately obvious. The nearest shop had a sign that said proudly Cauldrons-All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver-Self Stirring-Collapsible. There was one shop selling a variety of Broomsticks. Other shops sold telescopes, globes and strange silver instruments that Harry didn't recognise. A loud hooting came from a shop which called itself Eeylops Own Emporium. Another shop had a window display apparently consisting entirely of various body parts, which made Aunt Petunia look a bit queasy.

The people that walked around all looked very magical too. Most of them were dressed like Dumbledore, although some were wearing Muggle clothes. A fair number of them looked to be the same age as him and Hermione- fellow Hogwarts students, he presumed. Now and then, one of them would draw their wand from their pocket and point it at something. This always got the desired result. Their trunks got lighter, their clothes folded themselves and their shopping flew into their hands. Harry saw some who disappeared in one place and instantly reappeared in another.

"We must go to Gringotts first" said Dumbledore. "It is the bank of the wizarding world" after some walking they came to a great white building which towered above all the others. Dumbledore gestured for them to stop. "Gringotts is run by goblins and goblins are a proud people. I ask that you do not stare and that you treat them with the utmost respect. And although I am sure that none of you are thieves I am also required to order you to take nothing. To steal from Gringotts carries with it a price far higher than the merely monetary".

Harry saw Hermione mouth "goblins?" at him and shrugged his shoulders in response. Dumbledore had been right about everything so far. _I wonder what they look like_ he thought _do they look like people or apes or something else?._

Harry didn't have long to find out. Standing behind the doors was a creature with a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet. He (for Harry was sure that it was a he) stood a head shorter than Harry and slightly shorter than Hermione. Harry saw the shock on his aunt and uncle's faces, although they said nothing out loud and quickly moved to hide them.

As they walked inside, they came to a second set of doors, this time with words engraved upon them:

 _Enter stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed_

 _For those who take but do not earn_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn_

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never your_

 _Thief you have been warned beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there_

Harry gulped. He was starting to see what Dumbledore meant.

Behind the doors was a vast hallway, crawling with Goblins. The Goblins were sat on high stools, counting vast numbers of coins. Some other Goblins were showing visitors around the many hallways on the edges of the hall. One Goblin stood up from his stool and walked towards their group.

"Professor Dumbledore" he said "how may we be of assistance?"

"I wish to withdraw money from the Hogwarts fund and from Harry Potter's vault"

"You have the keys for those vaults I assume?" replied the goblin.

"Of course" said Dumbledore, producing two tiny golden keys.

"Very well" said the Goblin "I will have somebody take you down to the vaults. Gormuk!"

Gormuk was another goblin, who led them into a narrow stone passageway, lit by flaming torches.

"What exactly happens to people who steal from you?" asked Hermione. Gormuk replied and said "it's not for the ears of little human girls. Let's just say you wouldn't want it to happen to you"

Gormuk led them to some railway tricks on the floor. He whistled and cart came tumbling over to meet them. "I must warn you" said Dumbledore "that this will be a very bumpy ride. I hope that it has been a long time since any of you have eaten" everybody but Dumbledore and Gormuk looked very alarmed.

They all got into the cart, which seemed to be able to find its own way. At first they stayed in the stone passages but as they got deeper the air got colder and their surrounding changed from passageways to caves. Eventually they came to a small door in the wall. "This is the Hogwarts vault" explained Dumbledore "Gormuk, if you will do the honours"

Gormuk unlocked the door and a cloud of green smoke came billowing out. When it cleared Harry saw that it was full of huge coins- gold silver and bronze.

Dumbledore took a handful of coins and showed them to the group "now" he said "let me explain our currency to you. This" he held up a gold coin "is a Galleon. This is a Sickle and this is a Knut" he held up a silver coin and a bronze coin "there are 17 Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knuts to a sickle have you got that?" he asked kindly. Hermione nodded her head in response.

Uncle Henry called out "what's the exchange rate?"

Dumbledore replied "a Galleon is roughly five pounds. Now" he took a handful of gold coins and gave them to Hermione. "This is your fund, Miss Granger" he said "don't spend it all on sweets".

"Thank you Professor" Hermione replied.

They got back into the cart which trundled merrily along at faster and faster speeds. By the time it got them to their next destination Harry was feeling rather queasy. A quick look around told him that he wasn't the only one. Uncle Henry was looking very green and Aunt Petunia and Hermione looked to be on the verge of actually throwing up. Of the human occupants of the cart only Dumbledore looked to be entirely unaffected.

Their current destruction was very similar to the their first- a simple, small door. However when Gormuk opened the door and revealed what was inside Harry felt his breath catch in his throat. Inside was more money than he had ever seen before. The vault was covered in Galleons, Sickles and Knuts.

"If we'd known about this we'd never have given you pocket money" said Uncle Henry.

Dumbledore went into the vault to produce a handful of Galleons, about the same size as Hermione's. Harry began to open his mouth to protest but Dumbledore stopped him " you are not yet an adult Harry and until you are your guardians control this fund. I am sure your aunt and uncle will not want you to waste your inheritance on your school supplies"

They went back to the cart, with Aunt Petunia asking Gormuk to go a little slower this time.

The next stop was the cauldron shop they had seen on the way in, then off to Madam Malkin's to get their robes. Harry felt rather silly wearing such strange clothing but he supposed that he wouldn't really stand out among the wizards. After that they went to the Apothecary to purchase a variety of slimy and disgusting potion ingredients. And then what was the most anticipated part for Hermione: Flourish and Blotts bookstore.

Truth be told, Harry was rather interested in what the wizards put in their books as well. Now that the initial shock was starting to wear off he was beginning to wonder about what magic was exactly. He knew quite a bit about science and it was very clear to him that being able to make strange things happen by waving a stick around and saying some words didn't fit in very well with what he knew. Perhaps their books would shed some light on the subject.

At Flourish and Blotts the shelves were stacked as high as the ceiling with books of all shapes and sizes. Some of them were the size of paving stones and some were the size of postage stamps. Many of them had front covers written in languages Harry didn't recognize and a fair number seemed entirely blank. There were books that moved and sang and growled.

They were here, however to get a handful of very specific books, something that Dumbledore was very insistent upon. There would, he said be all the books they could want and all the time in the world in which to read them at Hogwarts. After much pleading from Hermione however Aunt Petunia and Uncle Henry were able to persuade Dumbledore to give them the money to spend on one book each.

It was while Harry was looking through the shelves than he heard a voice.

The voice said "excuse me mate, but do you know where the Potions section is?"

The source of that voice was a gangly redheaded boy who looked to be about Harry's age. He was wearing the same robes as many of the other wizards, although his looked rather dirtier and more frayed than the rest. Their seemed to be a rat sticking out of his top pocket.

Harry replied " yeah I'll show you" and led the boy to the place where he'd purchased his copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. As they reached their destination the boy turned suddenly and looked at Harry's forehead.

"Hang on a minute" he said " are you...?

"Am I what?" Harry replied.

"Harry Potter!" He exclaimed.

"Um, yes, yes I am" said suddenly realized that he would rather not become the object of the whole shop's attention " and don't go shouting about it, I don't want the whole world to know"

"Sorry Harry" said the boy " It's just a bit of a shock is all, its not everyday you meet someone famous. I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley"

"Famous? I'm certainly not famous where I'm from. I didn't even know about magic till I came here"

" didn't know about magic? That's mental that is. I don't know what I'd do without magic. And you're Harry Potter!"

"I'm really nothing special" said Harry" my aunt and uncle raised me with the Muggles and they didn't tell anyone because if I told anybody I'd be sent to the loony bin". A thought occurred to him. " I take it you're going to Hogwarts too?" He asked. It would be good to have someone who could show him around and Ron seemed perfectly willing. If it all turned out for the best he might even have a new friend.

"Of course" Ron replied"why?"

"You look like somebody who knows their way around" saw Harry " and I'd like to know someone who's always been a wizard if I'm becoming one"

Before Ron could answer Harry heard a voice calling Ron's name.

"Sorry" Ron said " I've got to go. I'll see you at Hogwarts. I hope you'll be in Gryffindor!"

Before Harry could ask what a Gryffindor was, Ron was away. Harry saw him talking animatedly to a balding, bespectacled man with bright red hair and an equally bespectacled and red headed teenager.

Ultimately Harry left the shop with several books, including one called The Workings of Magic which he hoped would tell him something about them and a sense that he might just have the ability to fit into the wizarding world as well as he had into the Muggle one.

The final stop on their tour was to get their wands. To do this they approached a rather shabby looking shop called Ollivanders. A sign on the door claimed that they had been makers of wands since 382 BC.

Inside the shop was quiet as the grave. It was a very small shop- it was something of a struggle to fit everybody in. The only distinguishing features were small chair towards the outside and a great many boxes.

Suddenly a voice spoke as if from nowhere. "Good evening" said the voice "I must say I wasn't expecting this"

The source of the voice was an old man who stood before them, his pale eyes shining.

He looked at each of his visitors in turn, then walked up to Harry.

"Harry Potter. You, I was expecting to come here one day" he said "I gave your parents their wands, you know. Your mother's was twelve and a quarter, inches long, swishy and made of willow. A good wand for charmwork. Your father on the other hand preferred a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable. A little more powerful and very good for transfiguration. I wonder which of your parents you will take after?"

His eyes never once left Harry. He didn't even blink. Harry was really starting to wish he would. Then he moved in closer and pointed a single bony finger at Harry's forehead.

"I'm afraid that I sold the wand that gave you this scar, Mr Potter. It was a very powerful wand. Thirteen inches,yew. Of course if I'd known what this wand was going to do..."

He suddenly turned to Dumbledore, as if he had only just noticed that he was there. "Albus!" He cried " it has been a long time since last we spoke. Your wand, if I recall correctly was eight and three quarter inches, rather springy, very good for transfiguration"

He looked closer at Dumbledore's hand and narrowed his eyes" but I see that it is not the wand that you are using now"

Dumbledore replied " I am afraid, Garrick, that the wand you sold me would prove to have a shorter lifespan than mine. But enough of this. I have come here to procure wands for two of my students"

"Very well" said Ollivander. "Why don't we start with young Mr Potter. Just try to do magic with each of these wands. One of them will choose you to be it's wielded."

Feeling very foolish, Harry took a wand and began waving it about. Nothing happened. Ollivander gave him several more wands, to the same limited success. Finally Ollivander gave him a wand "holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple" that allowed him to create some sparks. It was not terribly flashy but to Harry it was quite exhilarating- for the first time in his life, he was consciously doing actual, real magic.

"Oh bravo" said Ollivander "very wild done. But this is curious, most curious"

" what's curious?" Asked Hermione.

" it is strange that Mr Potter should be chosen by such a wand. There are some wands that come in pairs and the twin to this wand was given to the man responsible for that scar"

Much to Harry's relief he moved on to Hermione after that. It only took three tries before she had her wand and they could go.

As they were leaving the shop Aunt Petunia turned to Dumbledore and said wearily

"Are you sure you can trust that man, Dumbledore? I don't like the way he was talking to Harry. Uncle Henry grunted in agreement.

Dumbledore replied " Garrick is a rather strange man but he is quite harmless. He is too focused on wands, to have any nefarious plans. Now, I think we ought to get you home"


	7. Chapter 6

The next two months went by in a flash for Harry and Hermione. Hermione had gotten more than one extra book from Flourish and Blotts and spent days up in her room, reading them and her school books. Apparently quite a few of them included some mention of him in them. Each time this happened, Hermione would barge into his room and ask what he thought of it. He found them all rather laughable, truth be told. They all seemed to think he'd defeated Voldemort through some special powers of his own and all of them insisted on calling him " The Boy Who Lived" They insisted on talking about him as if he were some kind of superhero.

Harry had tried to read The Workings of Magic but gave up after a few chapters. The book was as dry, pretentious and confusing as possible. He supposed that it had to have been written for grown-ups. His other books were a lot more interesting and he devoured them voraciously. Still, none of them actually explained what magic was or where it had come from. Perhaps that was in the books for older students. Or perhaps the answer was so well known among wizards that nobody ever saw the need to explain it. Or maybe the wizards didn't know any better than he did.

The only thing of any real importance that happened in those months was Harry's birthday. He'd had a nice day- he'd enjoyed his presents, the cake was nice and all of his friends had come round. He'd had a good watching the videos he'd received and playing some football with his friends. The only downside was that he'd had to tell his friends that he was going away to Hogwarts. None of them seemed very pleased to hear it. Harry wished that he could have told them the truth about where he was going or better yet that he'd be able to take them with him but Dumbledore had explained in no uncertain terms that this was impossible.

Nevertheless Harry and Hermione were both extremely excited to be going to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts he'd be able to learn how to do magic- how to become more powerful than anybody he'd ever known. Harry's imagination raced with possibilities. Plus he'd be away from his aunt and uncle for the first time in his life- as much as he loved them, it would be nice to get a little freedom.

#

Harry found it hard to sleep on the night before the 1st of September. His mind was racing with thoughts of what the next day would bring and he barely managed to resist the temptation to grab his torch and his books and do some midnight reading. He had no idea what time it was when he finally fell asleep but he knew that it was very, very late.

Because of this, he felt distinctly tired when Aunt Petunia woke him early the next morning. He sleepwalked through dressing himself. Feeling, a little more awake, he went downstairs to have some toast. Once he had finished he began gathering the items that he would take to Hogwarts with him. In addition to his school things he also gathered several items of his own- a handful of Roald Dahl books, a battered old copy of the Junior Encyclopaedia of Science, an even older and more battered copy of My First Book of Dinosaurs and a football.

With all their things gathered the Grangers (and Harry) got into their car and sped off towards London. Harry suddenly realised that this was the last time he would see his house until Christmas but by the time he decided to take one last look it was already out of sight. Harry and Hermione sat in silence while the car crossed the motorway. As the sun began streaming down heavily, Harry began to feel more awake. His excitement began to grow again.

By the time they had reached King's Cross, Harry's heart felt as if it was going to burst out of his chest. Then they were at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. This was it.

Dumbledore had explained that the train to Hogwarts could only be reached through platform nine and three quarters. In order to get to it, one had to run straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

Aunt Petunia began to speak "Harry, Hermione, this is the last time you'll see me in person for a few months. I want you to promise that you'll stay out of trouble and you'll do your best in every subject and you'll write to me every week. I want to know you're okay."

They both promised that they would do as she asked and then she reached forward and hugged them both, one after the other. Then Uncle Henry stepped forward.

"I know you two will do me proud wherever you are. Have fun, but not too much fun, okay? And stay away from sugar. You don't know anything about wizarding dentistry and I don't trust what I don't know. Like Aunt Petunia he hugged Hermione but unlike Aunt Petunia he only shook Harry's hand.

Harry and Hermione loaded their trunks onto a trolley and began to head towards the barrier. They said goodbye and received a goodbye in return. As they walked towards it, Harry noticed that Hermione looked very apprehensive about heading straight for the solid concrete. He was feeling a little nervous himself- it was one thing to know that he could not be harmed by the barrier but quite another to actually thrust himself, face first into the hard material. He was worried that he might lose his nerve. To stop this, he decided to run straight at the barrier. Hermione followed his lead and before they knew it they were in.

Platform nine and three quarters was packed to the rafters. Everywhere Harry looked there were children and parents. They were all heading towards a great scarlet steam engine which billowed smoke everywhere. A sizeable number of the passengers were wearing wizards robes and for some reason pets website very popular. Harry saw dozens of cats and hundreds of owls as he and Hermione passed through the crowd. They passed a burly teenager who was talking animatedly about broomsticks and a pale, blond haired boy talking to two other, much larger boys. Harry scanned the crowd for any sign of Ron but he didn't seem to have arrived yet or else he was already on board.

They walked towards the train and went to find a compartment. The first couple were full but eventually they managed to find one near the end. Getting in, however proved to be more of a problem. It took an awful lot of effort for them to get their trunks into the compartment. Once they were in Hermione immediately began to leave again.

"I'm going to the bathroom" she said "I need to change into my wizarding clothes. And you should too, Harry"

"Hermione, we've got the whole journey to change" Harry replied "there's no need to do it right away"

"There might not be a need but I may as well do it while I still remember" she said and then Harry was alone.

In the absence of company, Harry opted to gaze out of the window. Just outside of the compartment next to his there was a pretty girl with long black hair and glasses. She seemed to be struggling mightily with her trunk. When he heard Hermione coming back he went to go and offer his assistance.

"Do you need any help with that?" He asked. The girl turned to him and said "if you don't mind"

His gesture would probably have been more impressive had he been able to lift the trunk any easier than she had. As it was, it took a rather embarrassing amount of time to get it on.

"My hero" said the girl "saving me from my luggage. I'm Mandy by the way, Mandy..." she paused for a second" ...Brocklehurst"

"That's a nice name" said Harry politely. She made a face that suggested she didn't agree with this sentiments "I'm Harry Potter"

"Are you really? Aren't you famous or something?"

"Kind of famous-but it's really no big deal, I didn't really do anything"

"Never met a famous person before" she said "you don't look very famous"

Harry looked at the crowd and saw the redheaded teenager with glasses he'd seen in Flourish and Blotts. Ron must be somewhere nearby.

"Listen" he said to Mandy "I've got to go. Why don't you come and sit in my compartment? My sister's there"

Harry followed him through the crowd, until he came to a large group of redheads. In addition to the boy, there was a plump woman who could only be his mother, a pair of twins who looked to be slightly younger than him and a little girl who couldn't be any older than ten. Ron was there too, struggling as his mother rubbed his nose.

"I can't stay long mother" the boy, who Harry assumed was probably Ron's brother "I must get back to the train. We prefects have a compartment of our own."

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy? We'd never have guessed" said one of the twins.

"Hang on, I think he might have mentioned it"

"Once"

"Twice"

"A minute"

"All summer"

"Oh, shut up" said Percy the Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes anyway?" Said one of the twins.

"Because he's a prefect" said their mother. She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"You two be on your best behaviour" she said" if I get one more owl telling me you've-you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet? We're never blown up a toilet before"

"Great idea though, thanks mum"

"It's not funny! And look after Ron"

"Ron doesn't need our help mum, he's best mates with Harry Potter"

Ron seemed to take exception to that remark "I'm telling you, it was really him!"

Harry decided that now was the best moment to reveal himself. He walked up to the Weasleys and said "hello. I'm Harry Potter"

The twins gawped at him for a while. They seemed almost incapable of speech, something which Harry had a feeling was a very rare occurrence.

Ron laughed "see, I told you he was real. Hi Harry"

"Hi Ron" Harry replied "I've got a compartment, do you fancy sitting there? It's at the end of the train" Harry noticed that he was starting to make a habit of inviting people to come and sit with him and he was probably best off stopping now, before he ended up inviting his entire class there.

"Sure Harry" Ron replied "just give me a minute"

"Hold on a minute" said one of the twins" how do we know you're really Harry Potter? Have you got the scar?"

Mrs Weasley turned angry "Fred that's incredibly rude! You cannot go through life saying things like that! I-"

"It's alright Mrs Weasley" said Harry "I don't mind" he lifted up his hair to show his scar.

"Well, well, well" said the other twin "it looks like we were wrong. That's not something that happens every day. I'm George" he pointed to the other twin" and that's my brother Fred. You already know Ron and this little bundle of joy is our little sister, Ginny"

"Pleased to meet you" said Harry politely.

Ginny looked as if she wanted to say something but couldn't work up the nerve Mrs Weasley looked much the same way. Harry walked off, wondering what they were thinking about.

When he returned to his compartment he found Hermione and Mandy, deep in conversation. The sight of Hermione being sociable was so rare that he almost didn't want to ruin it by interrupting.

But he interrupted anyway.

"Hi Mandy" he said" I see you've met my sister"

"Yeah" said Mandy "it's nice to meet someone else who likes a good book"

Of course. Another bookworm.

"Where've you been?" Asked Hermione.

"Making friends" Harry replied.

"More of them?"Said Hermione incredulously

"Just the one" said Harry "or maybe four but I was only trying for one"

Harry thought he'd better change the subject "so, Mandy, where are you from"

"Yorkshire" she answered" it's nice, there's loads of countryside there. Where are you two from?"

"Winchester" said Hermione "it's in the south, a bit west of London"

Harry noticed that the train was beginning to move. Smoke began pouring out of the train and onto the platform. Harry saw Mrs Weasley and Ginny waving at the train.

Not a moment later the door to the compartment slid open. Ron stood there, looking rather confused.

"Ron" said Harry "this is Mandy and this is my sister Hermione"

"Hello everyone" said Ron "I never heard about you having a sister Harry"

"Well we're cousins really but my aunt and uncle raised me after my parents...you know so we're more or less brother and sister"

"Can you remember it? What happened I mean"

"That's very insensitive of you" said Hermione testily "Harry doesn't want to talk about it, do you Harry?"

"I don't mind Hermione. I can't really remember anything, just a flash of green light"

"So you've no idea how you defeated You-Know-Who then?" Mandy interjected" it's just a lot of people have been wondering..."

"No idea" replied Harry he had no desire to discuss his mother's sacrifice in public "and I'm really nothing special. Whatever I did I don't even remember it. Until a few months ago I didn't know that I was a wizard and I'd never even heard of Vold-"

"Don't say the name!" Ron shouted. "I mean, you of all people-"

"No idea" replied Harry he had no desire to discuss his mother's sacrifice in public "and I'm really nothing special. Whatever I did I don't even remember it. Until a few months ago I didn't know that I was a wizard and I'd never even heard of Vold-"

"Don't say the name!" Ron shouted. "I mean, you of all people-"

"Professor Dumbledore thinks I should" Harry replied.

"Yeah, well Dumbledore's mental. My brother's all say so"

"Why are you all so scared to say his name?" asked Hermione "we've got evil people in the Muggle world too and they don't make us incapable of saying their names"

"It's because of what happened in the war" said Mandy in a quiet voice. They all turned to look at her "they thought he could attack anywhere, at any time. My mum used to say that if you said You-Know-who's name he always knew where you were"

"Is your mum a witch then?" asked Ron

"Yeah" replied Mandy "but I don't know her very well. She left when I was just little. My dad's a muggle though, so I suppose I'm half and half"

"You're family are all wizard's, aren't they Ron?" asked Harry. He was curious to know what it was like to live in a magical family"

"Yeah" said Ron "well, almost. Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant but we don't talk about him"

"That's terrible!" cried Hermione "you can't disown someone from your family just because they don't have magic"

"Oh. I didn't mean it like that" said Ron "he's got magic, he just doesn't want to use it ever. Too obsessed with Muggle money. Bit of a weirdo honestly. But you get weirdos in families as big as ours. I remember one time at Auntie Enid's wedding when my great Uncle Bilius…"

What exactly Ron's Great Uncle Bilius had done would have to wait because at that moment a trolley came to the outside of the compartment, pushed along by an old witch.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked. The trolley was filled to bursting with all manner of exotic sweets.

Harry had never wanted for food growing up with the Grangers but since Uncle Henry was a dentist Harry had never been allowed near any sugary foods, apart from when his friends sneaked them to him at school. Now, with a pocket filled with Galleons, he was going to rectify that problem. As he was reaching towards the trolley, Hermione made a futile attempt to stop him.

"Harry" she said "dad told us to stay away from sugar"

"Dad's not here, Hermione" Harry replied "and I won't tell him if you don't. Does anybody else want anything?"

In the end Harry got a bit of everything and so did Ron. Mandy took only a small portion and Hermione refused to take anything at all.

As one would tend to expect from wizarding food, the sweets on the trolley were most bizarre. There were Chocolate Frogs, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Liquorice wands, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Eventually he managed to persuade Hermione to have a bite out of his Pumpkin Pastie.

"It's nice to have so many sweets" said Harry" my aunt and uncle never let me have so many at home"

"I know how you feel" replied Ron "my parents never let me have too many sweets because we can't afford- I mean because they're bad for me" a rather grim look crossed his face. Harry thought he'd better change the subject

"What's it like living with three wizard brothers?" He asked Ron.

"Five wizard brothers. Bill and Charlie left the country a while ago. And it's mental. They've all done really well. Bill works for Gringotts and Charlie tames dragons. Percy's the prefect who gets perfect marks in everything, even though he's a total git and Fred and George don't get very good marks but everyone thinks they're really funny. You could say I've got a lot to live up to"

Ron turned and abruptly change the subject "hang on, you three live with Muggles, don't you? What's that like?"

"It's alright" Harry replied "but it's a lot more dull. Magic is way more interesting than anything happening at home."

"I quite agree" said Hermione "this world is all very fascinating and these books are amazing. But I hope you can give us some more insight, Ron, since you grew up with magic"

Ron turned a bit pink "well, I don't know about that. There's really not much I know. I mean you should really talk to my dad sometime, he loves Muggle stuff"

"I would have done a spell but the only one I know that I could do here turned out to just be Fred and George joking. It's annoying having big brothers sometimes. "

"I'll tell you what though" said Mandy "they can't be half as annoying as little sisters. My sister drives me nuts sometimes"

"I know how you feel, my sister Ginny, she heard that I'd met Harry and she wouldn't shut up about it."

They sat in their compartment, talking and sharing what was left of the food for several more hours. Ron revealed that inside the Chocolate Frogs were cards pictures of famous wizards and witches that moved on their own.

"I still haven't got Agrippa" said Ron" and I've been searching for ages. I don't suppose any of you have any?"

"Nope" said Harry "just Dumbledore"

"And I've just got two of Ulric the oddball" said Mandy.

It was shortly thereafter that the doors to their compartment slid open. A plump, round faced boy stood in the doorway. "Sorry to bother you" he said "but have you seen a toad anywhere?"

"No, sorry" said Harry.

"But if you look for a little wet toad trail you might be able to find it" said Mandy kindly.

"Thanks" said the boy and he wandered off.

After a few hours, the conversation turned to what houses they were likely to be in. students at Hogwarts were divided into four houses- Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw.

"It's got to be Gryffindor for me" said Ron "my family's produced nothing but Gryffindor's for years and years"

"I agree with you that Gryffindor sounds by far the best but I think Ravenclaw sounds quite nice too" said Hermione.

"I've no idea what house I'll be in- my mum was a Hufflepuff but I don't think that's my thing. I like books though, so probably Ravenclaw. I suppose Gryffindor wouldn't be _too_ bad though" said Mandy.

There was silence for a minute. Harry realised that everybody was looking at him. "Umm I don't know really. Same as Hermione I suppose. I like the sound of Gryffindor but Ravenclaw sounds alright too"

"Well better Ravenclaw than Slytherin" said Ron.

"Why, what's wrong with Slytherin?" asked Harry

"They're all dark wizards" said Ron "You-Know-Who was a Slytherin and all his followers came from there. Half the kids in Slytherin are their children"

I was only a few minutes later that the door to their compartment slid open again. Standing in the doorway was the pale blond boy and the two larger boys Harry had seen at the station.

"They've seen saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment" said the blond boy "is that you?"


	8. Chapter 7

"Yes" said Harry "why do you want to know?"

"You're rather famous around our people, Potter" said the boy "but I'm sure you wouldn't know that, living with Muggles", he said the word as if it were a disgusting swearword.

"My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and this is Crabbe and Goyle" he pointed to the two boys flanking his sides.

Ron coughed in a way that suggested he was trying to cover up a snigger. But before Malfoy could respond, Hermione began talking.

"Are you really? I heard that the Malfoys were the one of the oldest families in the-"

"I know my history, thanks" said Malfoy " and I think I was talking to Potter, not you"

"I don't think you were invited into this carriage" said Mandy" or does being posh mean you get to go everywhere?"

"I think you ought to be less rude you, arrogant, thoughtless bully" said Hermione

"Yeah, it doesn't help you make friends, Malfoy. Maybe your dad didn't teach you that when he was busy helping You-Know-Who" said Ron.

"Don't you dare talk about my father!" Shouted Malfoy "I know about your family. My father says every Weasley has red hair, freckles and more children then they can afford. And as for these two" he cast a disdainful glance at Hermione and Mandy "I don't think they're from a proper family at all"

He turned directly to Harry "you'll learn very soon, Potter that some wizards are better than others. I can show you the right sort" he extended his hand.

Harry refused to shake it.

"Don't talk about my sister like that" he said coldly "or my friends. I think you should go now"

"Well that's a shame, isn't it?" Sneered Malfoy "because we don't much feel like leaving"

This was really starting to get out of control but Harry supposed that there was really no way of backing down now.

"Leave now or I'll make you leave" said Harry. He hoped that if he sounded tough enough, Malfoy would back away.

He had no such luck.

"Or what? You'll fight me?" Malloy said with a sneer.

"I wouldn't be feeling so brave if I were you, Malfoy. There's four of us and three of you" snarled Ron.

"You think I'm afraid of some blood traitors and a couple of girls? Crabbe, teach him a lesson"

Crabbe began to waddle over to Ron, his mass dwarfing the redhead.

Mandy began talking" Harry I really don't think we should-"

As Crabbe bent down to grab Ron, he suddenly howled in pain and withdrew his finger. He went back to Malfoy and Goyle.

"Go. Now" Harry shouted and they heeded his advice.

"What happened to Crabbe's hand?" asked Harry

Ron withdrew something small and brown from his pocket.

"It was my rat, Scabbers .He bit Crabbe when he tried roughing me up. Doesn't do much usually, good thing Malfoy came while he was awake".

"Can I have a look?" asked Mandy

"Alright" said Ron "but I warn you, he's fallen asleep again and he doesn't like being woken up"

Mandy took him into her hand " aaaww he's so cute" she said, stroking Scabbers' fur " I like rats. Everyone says they're dirty but they're not, not really"

"You're welcome to have him" said Ron "Percy gave him to be because he was so useless. Doesn't do anything but eat and sleep. Mind you, I suppose he might be helpful if Malfoy comes back"

"Lovely boy isn't he, that one?" said Mandy

"Typical Malfoy" said Ron "that family's been rotten to the core since forever. His dad was a Death Eater and I'll bet you any money his grandad was too"

"A Death Eater?" asked Harry.

"Someone who followed You-Know-Who" Ron clarified.

"A follower of You-Know Who? But The Rise and Fall of The Dark Arts said that they were all captured or killed" said Hermione.

"Well he always says he wasn't really a Death Eater. Fed everyone some bollocks about being bewitched and the Ministry let him get away with it 'cause he's rich. My dad reckons the Malfoy's never needed a reason to turn dark"

"Well that's outrageous" said Hermione "I hope someone catches him one of these days"

"My dad's been trying to pin something on him for a while but it never sticks" said Ron "still, one of these days…"

Harry looked out of the window and realised that it had been some time since they had been in a city. Outside, it was all rolling fields and wide, open spaces. The cows in the fields looked different too. They now had shaggy coats and long, curved horns. The sky seemed to be getting blacker and blacker as the journey went on. In the distance there were mountains.

"I think we're nearly there" he said "it looks like we're in Scotland"

"You two had better get out then" said Ron to Hermione and Mandy "unless you want to watch us change"

Hermione left with a huff and Mandy with a muttered comment about politeness.

No sooner had they finished putting their robes on when they heard an announcement, informing them that the train would stop in five minutes. Harry and Ron gathered their stuff and went off to get Hermione and Mandy.

They got off at the Platform to find a most unusual man waiting for them. He was simply huge, towering over everyone and everything in the vicinity. He had a rather barbaric appearance, with his long, wild hair and an enormous black bushy beard covering much of his face. The giant spoke in a deep booming voice with a West Country accent.

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" he cried.

Harry and the others dutifully walked towards him, although a few looked rather worried by his appearance.

When everybody had assembled the giant looked over at the children and beamed. Then he spoke.

"C'mon follow me-Any more firs'-years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me"

He led them down a long and narrow path. It was now very dark, so it was rather hard to see anything. Everybody was too busy trying to avoid tripping over to talk much and despite their best efforts there were a number who stumbled or fell. The boy who had lost his toad sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll see yeh first sight of Hogwarts in a second" said the giant "jus' round this bend"

There was loud and pleased noise from all the assembled students.

Hogwarts was certainly an impressive sight. Although Harry had read about the nature of Hogwarts, he had still pictured it in his mind's eye as merely a larger and more fantastical version of his primary school. This was not the case. Hogwarts was a vast black castle, perched on a mountain and resting by the shore of a vast black lake. It dominated the landscape. Unlike the castles Harry had seen before this was no ruin. It looked to be in the prime of its existence its walls standing high and proud.

They were led to the shores of the lake, where a number of little boats sat waiting for them.

"No more'n four to a boat!" shouted the giant and Harry dutifully got into one of the boats, along with Ron, Hermione and Mandy. Suddenly, the boats began to move, under their own power and they were drifting across the lake. Everyone sat in silence as the boats drifted closer and closer.

"HEADS DOWN" yelled the giant as they reached the cliff. They ducked their heads and were carried under a curtain of ivory. The boats brought them through what seemed like an underground tunnel until, still underground, they were brought to a harbour. They all climbed out of their boats and onto the muddy, pebbly ground.

"Oy, you there, is that your toad?" Said the giant to the toadless boy. The boy's reaction showed very clearly that it was.

They were now being led across a narrow passageway built out of the rock. The passage took them higher and higher, until they were again out in the cold, clear air. This time they were standing on the grass next to the castle's entrance. From there it was only a short walk to be standing right outside the huge castle gates. The giant strode up to them and knocked three times.

The door was opened by a tall, black haired witch wearing emerald green robes. Her face had a very severe lock on it and Harry had a feeling that she was somebody he really didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall" said the giant.

"Thank you Hagrid" replied McGonagall "that will be all" She spoke in a calm authoritative voice, with the hint of a Scottish accent.

She led the new students to a small stone chamber. There she told them that they would soon be sorted into their houses.

"How do they decide what house you should be in?" Asked Harry.

"There's some sort of test" said Ron "I don't know what it is. Fred says it hurts a lot but I think he was joking"

"A test? Well that shouldn't be so bad, should it, Hermione" said Harry. He'd done quite a few tests and managed to come out best, although he had no idea what the wizards' idea of a test would be like. Hermione was muttering everything she could remember under her breath, while the rest sat in stony silence.

The silence was abruptly broken when several people screamed. Harry turned around and gasped.

"Ghosts!" cried Mandy, for that was what they'd seen. Pearly white and transparent, they drifted through the walls and floated through the air. They seemed to be deep in conversation with each other because they did not acknowledge the students at all. One of them, who looked like a rather rotund monk was saying "forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

'My dear friar, haven't we given Peeve all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not even really a ghost- I say what are you all doing here?'

One of the ghosts had noticed them at last and now the others were starting to pay attention. Nobody answered the ghost's question.

"New students!" said the fat monk "about to be sorted I suppose?"

A few were brave enough to nod mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" he said "my old house you know"

It was at that moment that Professor McGonagall returned

"Move along now" she said "the Sorting Ceremony's about to start"

The ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

McGonagall spoke again "now, form a line and follow me"

Harry fell into line and walked with the others out of the chamber and towards the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was as large and impressive as everything else about Hogwarts. It was lit by many thousands of candles, floating in midair. There were five long tables- four for the students and one for the teachers. All of them were covered in golden plates and goblets, which glittered in the light. McGonagall led them to the teachers table and they stood, facing hundreds of other students. Harry gulped. He had hoped that the test would be done in private- if he failed, he would have hundreds of witnesses. He felt a ball of worry beginning to grow in his stomach.

Looking up, he saw the night sky. It was a beautiful, clear night and the stars glimmered in their billions. Hermione whispered in his ear "it's bewitched to look like the sky outside". Further down, floating just above the tables were the ghosts.

Harry heard a noise and looked down again. McGonagall was placing a four legged stool in front of them. Then she produced a hat and placed it on top of the school. The hat was dirty and frayed and generally past it's prime. Aunt Petunia would have given him a stern talking to if he had ever brought something like that into the house.

Presumably the hat was involved in the test somehow. Harry was, however at a loss to figure out how. Was there really something to all that stuff about magicians pulling rabbits out of hats?

For a few seconds nobody spoke. All eyes were no the hat. Then the hat began to twitch and keep twitching until a hole opened up on the brim. It looked very much like a mouth and clearly it had the same function because the hat began to sing.

 _Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _If you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folks use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

A singing hat. Now he'd really seen it all.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron said "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll"

"And you believed him?" said Mandy incredulously "honestly Ron, no wonder they keep playing tricks on you"

McGonagall stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted" she explained "Abbott, Hannah"

A blonde haired girl with pigtails came out of the line and put the hat over her head. After a moments silence the hat cried "HUFFLEPUFF!" and there was a great explosion of cheer from that table.

Next up was "Bones, Susan" After not long under the hat she too received a call of "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boot, Terry"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy"

"Wish me luck" she whispered and walked towards the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat and she walked up to join Terry.

The next to be sorted was "Brown, Lavender" who became the first Gryffindor followed by "Bulstrode, Millicent" who became the first Slytherin. Harry could see Ron's point about Slytherin- they did not look like very nice people.

Eventually the hat reached Hermione, who walked very quickly up to the stool and practically shoved the hat onto her head. The hat took a long time to decide with Hermione but eventually he heard a cry of "RAVENCLAW!" He knew which house he wanted now.

The toadless boy, whose name turned out to be Neville Longbottom took an equally long time before he was sorted, before he was finally placed in Gryffindor. He ran off still wearing the hat and had to come back to return it amid gales of laughter.

Malfoy didn't take nearly so long to be sorted. He was declared a Slytherin practically the moment the hat touched his head.

Harry noted to his amusement that Crabbe and Goyle seemed dedicated to flanking Malfoy's sides at all times, having opted to sit on opposite sides of an empty seat.

His amusement was short lived, however because the supply of people was rapidly running out.

"Moon" … "Nott" … "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks" and finally

"Potter, Harry"

Harry stepped forward and walked towards the stool. It felt as if he were running a marathon, each step seemed to take an eternity. A sudden outbreak of whispers and murmuring occurred across the hall. He heard his name many time amongst the chatter. He really wished they wouldn't, it was turning an already nerve wracking experience into something else entirely.

Soon however, Harry found his eyes engulfed by the black velvet of the hat.

"Hmm" said a small voice in his ear "this is difficult. Very difficult indeed. You've got bravery, you've got cunning, you've got a fondness for knowledge- and a nice thirst to prove yourself- so where shall I put you?"

Harry didn't have to think very hard 'Ravenclaw', he thought.

"Are you sure?" Said the Hat "you'd do well in Gryffindor or Slytherin, you might even make it as a great Hufflepuff-no? Well if you're sure it had better be RAVENCLAW!"

Harry walked wearily towards Hermione at the Ravenclaw table. A great cheer erupted across the table, bigger than any previous one. The Ravenclaw ghost, an elegant grey lady, gave him a piercing look.

Harry saw the high table where the teachers sat properly now. He saw Dumbledore sat to the centre and McGonagall by his side. Hagrid was sat there as well. Not far from Dumbledore and McGonagall were two more teachers – one was hook-nosed and sallow faced with a mop of land, greasy hair. The other as thin and nervous looking, with a huge purple turban perched atop his head. As Harry looked towards them, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forehead.

"Harry, are you alright?" said Hermione

"I'm fine" he replied "just a bit of a headache, that's all"

"It's good that we're together, isn't it?" said Hermione "I thought we might end up…"

"In different houses?" Harry finished "come on, as if I'd leave you on your own"

The sorting was really beginning to wind down now. Once "Thomas, Dean" had joined Gryffindor and "Turpin, Lisa" had come to the Ravenclaw table there was only a handful left. One of those handful was Ron. Harry hoped that he would join them but he didn't feel it was particularly likely. After all, Ron had said all of his family had been Gryffindors for centuries. Like Hermione and Neville, Ron was spending an inordinately large amount of time under the hat. When the hat finally moved again it was with a cry of "RAVENCLAW!"

Harry, Hermione and Mandy were among the few who clapped. Most of the hall seemed to be in a state of shocked silence, including Ron's brothers. Ron walked his way over to the Ravenclaw table.

"I don't think anyone was expecting that" said Hermione.

Ron smiled and laughed "yeah, first Weasley in Ravenclaw in, well, ever. Who'd have thought it? That'll teach Fred and George, the Sorting Hat says I'm smarter than them!"

Once " Zabini, Blaise" became a Slytherin the ceremony was over. McGonagall rolled up her scroll and put the Sorting hat away.

Dumbledore got to his feet and began to talk.

"Welcome!" he said "welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak"

'Thank you'

Harry was very confused by this, as was much of the rest of the hall. But when the plates began filling up with delicious looking food, harry suddenly found that he didn't care very much.

Authors Note: **So everybody's in Ravenclaw. Some of you may question having Ron in there but I don't think it's terribly implausible. Contrary to popular belief, the books never depict Ron as stupid or particularly bad at schoolwork (the films on the other hand…). He was never shown to do any worse than Harry at any of his schoolwork and their exam results in Half Blood Prince are close to identical. Plus his skill at chess shows that he has a certain gift for strategy. He's hardly what you'd expect a Ravenclaw to be like but he's no more ill –fitting to it than Crabbe and Goyle are to Slytherin or Pettigrew to Gryffindor**

 **Why does he want to be a Ravenclaw? It's essentially a combination between wanting to be with his new friends and seeing an opportunity to move out of the shadows of his brothers. As the first Weasley in Ravenclaw he'll stand out no matter what he does**.


	9. Chapter 8

Harry awoke with a start the next morning. He was shocked to find himself not in his own different and it took him a few seconds to remember where he was and what we was doing there. Beside him, Ron continued to sleep soundly. Most of the other boys were already up- only Kevin Entwhistle and Anthony Goldstein were still snoring. Harry got out of his bed, put on his clothes and his glasses and headed downstairs.

He found Hermione there waiting for him. For some reason there weren't many other people there.

"Honestly, Harry" she said rather severely "you do sleep in far too late. It's almost half past ten!"

"You think I sleep in too late? Wait till you see Ron, he's like a log. Where's everybody gone?"

"They've all gone downstairs to eat breakfast, like I could have if you didn't make me wait so long"

"Sorry Hermione" he said rather sheepishly "I'd just better go and wake Ron and then we can see if there's anything left"

It took a couple of shakes before Ron was moving about but Harry managed in the end. Ron sat up straight and spoke.

"I'm in Ravenclaw. How the hell did I get into Ravenclaw?"

"You should know" said Harry "and I'd have expected you to notice it before. What house did you think you were in?"

"I know" said Ron "it just hadn't really sunk in yet. I'm the first Weasley in donkey's years not to go to Gryffindor. What's everybody else going to say?"

"They're you're family "Harry replied "I'm sure they'll be fine with. Besides, didn't you say it was Ravenclaw than Slytherin? Come on, let's get some breakfast"

The three of them climbed down the long, spiral staircase of Ravenclaw Tower and tried to make their way to the Great Hall. It proved to be rather difficult to retrace their steps so far, especially since tiredness had given them only a dim recollection of what happened the night before. Nevertheless, thanks to Hermione's excellent memory they were able to get there in just over ten minutes.

When they arrived, the Great Hall was far from being filled up and it was rapidly emptying. The majority of the older students had left for lessons. The first years were fortunate enough not to have any lessons on the first day but many of them had departed for the common rooms or gone off to explore the castle. Mandy remained at the Ravenclaw table- she smiled and waved at them across the room.

They all sat down next to her.

"I saved you some" she said, holding out a plate full of bacon, sausages and eggs

"Cheers, Mandy" said Harry "you're a lifesaver"

They spent the next few minutes eating their breakfasts, occasionally pausing to converse through mouthfuls of food. It was really quite nice, while it lasted. Unfortunately within a couple of minutes they heard a snide voice from behind them.

"Ravenclaw, eh Potter? How did you manage to con the Hat like that? More importantly how did Weasley?"

Harry looked behind him to find Draco Malfoy glowering, with Crabbe and Goyle flanking his sides.

"Go away Malfoy" said Hermione "we're in no mood to deal with you"

"Yeah" said Ron "why don't you go back to all your slimy new mates in Slytherin?"

Malfoy ignored them "you enjoying Hogwarts so far, Weasley? I can't stand having to sleep in a room with five other boys but I suppose you'd be used to that, living the way you do. I heard that your house only has one room, is that true?"

Ron visibly bristled, his hands clenching into fists. Mandy put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ron, don't rise to it, he's not worth it" she said, giving Malfoy a nasty glare.

"Sticking up for Weasley are you, Brocklehurst? Interesting name that" replied Malfoy "it's not a wizard's name I know. And I know all the wizard names so either you're father was a muggle or you're a m-"

"What seems to be the problem here?"

Ron's twin brothers, Fred and George had arrived. Malfoy had stopped mid- sentence, his mouth hanging open.

"You three, scat, now" said one of the twins "we'd like to talk to our brother"

"And if you don't do it quick you'll find out why the Gryffindor Quidditch Team made us beaters"

Malfoy looked like he wanted to argue with that but Fred and George were older than him and bigger even then Crabbe and Goyle, so he left without a fuss.

"Getting into fights already, little bro?" said the one who'd spoken first "maybe you belong in Gryffindor after all"

"We didn't start any fight!" shouted Ron "it was all Malfoy"

"Lucius Malfoy's son?" said the other one "yeah I think he'd do that. But the more important question is, what are you doing sitting at this table, my smallest brother"

"Are we sure he's even our brother? After all, every Weasley has been in Gryffindor. And if he's not in Gryffindor, maybe he's not a Weasley…"

"Fred!" cried the other one. Ron looked angry again.

Mandy chimed in "you do realise that this say's something about your mother, don't you?"

A look of horror crossed their faces. Ron looked renewed.

"Ha!" he said "wait till I tell mum what you said. You'll be getting howlers till you're fifty"

"Never mind" said George "we just wanted to say that we don't care which house you're in. and Percy'll probably tell you the same once he's done with his prefect stuff"

"We would like to know, though" he continued "how you ended up here. We never got the impression that you were, shall we say, the perfect Ravenclaw"

"Who knows" said Ron "you'll have to ask the hat"

#

For the next couple of days, Harry settled into his routine at Hogwarts. It turned out to be rather more difficult than he expected.

For one thing, just getting from place to place was far from easy. Hogwarts was enormous, full of twisting corridors and winding staircases, which tended to look very similar to one another. Harry was very fortunate to have Hermione with him- she was able to find her way when the rest were unable. There wasn't much she could do, however against the obstacles.

And obstacles there were. Hogwarts was a magical school and that came with magical pests. There were door that required a password, doors that needed to be asked nicely or tickled in the right place and there were doors that were actually walls just pretending. Even getting entry to Ravenclaw Tower was difficult at times- to enter one had to solve a riddle and if you couldn't solve it, tough luck. Even trying to get a sense of the geography was difficult- the staircases moved around constantly and Harry had a sneaking suspicion that the rest of the castle did as well when nobody was looking.

Another problem was Peeves. He was, as Harry learned not a ghost but a Poltergeist, a spirit of raw, chaotic energy. And he certainly acted the part. If you were unfortunate enough to come across him he would soon unleash all manner of jokes. He would throw waste paper around, rap you on the head with a stick of chalk or grab your nose, yelling "got your conk!" The only thing Peeves seemed to fear was the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin. Not being on terribly good terms with Slytherin, this wasn't much help for Harry.

Even worse than Peeves, if such a thing were possible was Filch, the caretaker. Filch seemed to openly loathe the children and was always happy to punish them for anything he could. And Filch was hard to avoid. His cat, Mrs Norris, seemed to have some way of summoning him, for wherever she was ,he would turn up soon after. He knew the secret passageways better than anyone, which meant that he could appear out of thin air whenever you were doing something you shouldn't.

Then there were the lessons themselves.

Harry came to learn that there was a lot more to magic than just waving your wand around. There was a mountain of studying and homework that he was required to do. Harry suspected that being a Ravenclaw meant that he was being given harder work than the rest of the year, especially since he was also The Boy-Who-Lived.

Every lesson was different in its own way. The teacher with a turban on his head, who Harry learned was named Professor Quirrell taught Defence Against the Dark Arts. Hermione had been looking forward to this- she had told him that they would be learning how to defend against the worst dark magical creatures and that Professor Quirrell had been in Ravenclaw himself, so surely he must be good at his job.

They had no such luck. Quirrel was a total wimp, who stuttered like Porky Pig and seemed terrified of everything. He did seem quite nice but they were at a loss to explain how he had ended up teaching a defence class. Ron said that his brothers had heard that Quirrell had a nervous breakdown after he had a nasty encounter with a vampire in Germany. Hermione had said and they had all agreed that somebody who was this much of a nervous wreck probably shouldn't be teaching.

Herbology was taught by Professor Sprout, a squat little witch with short, grey, wavy hair. Her lessons involved a lot of digging and planting in the earth of the greenhouse, which left everybody covered in muck. To make matters worse, they had Herbology with the Slytherins, so Harry was forced to endure the snide presence of Malfoy and his minions while he was digging.

Charms was taught by Professor Flitwick, a very short little man who was their head of house. On their first lesson, while he was taking the register, he saw Harry's name and promptly fell off his desk. They all had to spend the next few minutes with their hands on their mouths, to stop themselves from laughing.

Flitwick was not the only one who seemed very concerned with Harry's fame. Wherever he went he heard whispers following him and he saw pupils pointing him out to their fellows. At first Harry found this all very annoying but it didn't take long for him to accept it as part of the background noise of the school. He still wished they wouldn't though.

The worst lesson of all was Potions. Potions was taught down in the dungeons, a cold, draughty, miserable place, full of bits of dead animals. But far more miserable than the classroom was the teacher. Professor Snape, the hook nosed, sallow faced teacher who Harry had seen at the welcoming feast taught Potions.

They had heard that Snape was head of Slytherin and always favoured them but fortunately they had Potions with Hufflepuff, so it didn't seem that it would be much of a problem. On their first day, Snape read out the register and paused when he came to Harry's name.

"Harry Potter" he said "our new _celebrity_ "

Authors Note: **Comments and reviews are always welcome.**


	10. Chapter 9

Harry felt a jolt of confusion as Snape continued to read out the register. Why had he decided to draw attention to Harry in such a way?

When Snaps had finished with the register. He took a long look at the class. Unlike most of the other teachers, his expression showed not an inch of warmth or encouragement. His gaze was steely and his black eyes looked like tunnels into some dark dimension. In particular he was looking at Harry like he was something disgusting that he was studying for school.

"Put your wands away now" said Snape "you are not here to wave them around. You are here to learn the ancient art and subtle science of potion making. If you learn correctly and do as I ask then you may be able to do many great things. I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death"

"That is assuming, however" he continued "that you are capable of doing this correctly. Unlike other professors you may have had, I do not believe in coddling my students. The vast majority of you will be incapable of passing this subject. This is because Potions is not an easy subject and I have no tolerance for substandard work. If you cannot do this subject then that is your problem, not mine"

The class was utterly silent. Snape had a knack for keeping his pupils quiet without much effort. He broke the silence when he turned to Harry.

"Potter!" He barked "what would I get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"

Harry thought he might know this." The um, Polyjuice Potion, sir?"

"Wrong!" Snape shouted gleefully "clearly fame isn't everything"

Harry thought that this was very unfair. Especially since half of the rest of the class had their hands up and Snape was completely ignoring them.

"Let's try again, shall we?" Said Snape "Potter, where would you look if I told you to find a Bezoar"

Perhaps Snape was trying to make some sort of point about being willing to ask for help. It seemed like a rather poor way of going about it but Harry took a chance and decided that honesty was the best policy.

"I don't know sir. Could you tell me?"

"Tell you?" Said Snape in a mock incredulous voice "I explained at the start of this lesson that I do not spoonfeed my students. I expect them to read the books that they have been provided"

"What is the difference between Monkswood and Wolfsbane, Potter?"

Harry looked at his surroundings. He saw Mandy mouth "there isn't one" at him.

"There isn't any difference" said Harry.

"Very good Potter" said Snape "or it would be if you had not copied Brocklehurst. Two points from Ravenclaw for your cheek. Three for attempting to cheat. And three from Brocklehurst for helping you"

"I think" he continued "that the standard for Ravenclaw house has slipped a little in recent years. It is clear to me that certain of you most certainly do not possess wit beyond measure"

Hermione looked furious and seemed as if she was going to leap to his defence but Ron stopped her.

"Don't push it" he said "I've heard Snape can turn really nasty"

"For your information, Potter" Snape said "Asphodel and Wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful that it is known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a small stone found in the stomach of a goat which is able to cure most illnesses. And as Brocklehurst so helpfully explained, Monkswood and Wolfsbane are the same plant under different names, which is also known as Aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying this down?"

While they were in the middle of doing this, a slightly pudgy Hufflepuff opted to speak up in Harry defence.

"But, Professor Snape" he said "you didn't-"

"Be quiet, Macmillan!" Snape barked "two points from Hufflepuff"

The rest of the lesson continued in much the same way. Snape seemed to find fault in everyone and everything. He was perpetually hovering over their shoulders, looking for mistakes.

In particular, Snape seemed determined to find fault in Harry. There was never a pleasant expression on Snape's face but never did his face turn as venomous as when he was looking at or talking to Harry. Fortunately, Snape was unable to find any further excuses to take points off Ravenclaw, although this wasn't for lack of trying. He did declare that Harry's potion was "atrocious" however.

When Harry left the dungeons, it was under a cloud of anger and confusion. Anger because Snape had been so rude to him and placed him in an unwinnable situation. And confusion because he had no idea what he was supposed to have done to make Snape despise him so. They'd never even met before- what could he have done?

A lot of his classmates seemed to agree with him. Hermione in particular, was outraged.

"That was appalling!" she shouted as they made their way back to Ravenclaw Tower "he was just picking on Harry for no reason. Harry did nothing wrong, he was attacked for existing and not knowing!"

She continued "and his teaching skills are abominable. He just read out the instructions and expected us to be able to do something without any help whatsoever. Did any of us learn anything from that? I don't think so! I think you should complain, Harry maybe Professor Dumbledore can do something about it"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up" said Ron "my brothers say Snape's been awful to kids for ages. If he hasn't been sacked already, he probably won't be now"

" I reckon I know why Snape's not been sacked" said Anthony Goldstein, who was hovering close to them " Dumbledore controls the interview process but the real power in terms of hiring and firing is with the governors. And guess who's chairman?"

"Who?" asked Harry

"Lucius Malfoy" Anthony replied.

"Typical" said Mandy "I bet they were mates at school"

"Yeah, I'm sure Malfoy and Snape got along like a house on fire" said Ron. He turned to Harry "sorry, mate. What Snape did was really out of order"

"I think Hermione's right" said Mandy "If you tell Professor Flitwick, or Professor Dumbledore, or if you write to your aunt and uncle you might have a chance. Money isn't everything and you're the Boy-Who-Lived. You could probably get rid of Snape if you tried"

"I don't want to make a big fuss" said Harry "it'd just be a massive hassle. Let's just go back to the common room and forget about it"

"But we've got to go to the owlery first" said Hermione "we said we'd write to mum and dad at the end of our first week, remember?"

Harry was ashamed to say that he hadn't.

Ron and the others headed back to Ravenclaw tower but Harry and Hermione headed to the owlery. They decided to send Uncle Henry and Aunt Petunia a letter.

Harry wrote a brief message, explaining that he'd been very busy but he was enjoying himself for the most part. He mentioned Ron and Mandy and talked about being sorted into Ravenclaw and what it was like there. He considered telling them about Snape but decided against it. They'd just make a fuss and he was getting enough attention as it was.

Hermione's letter was a lot longer than Harry's. She'd gone through almost three rolls of parchment before she tied her letter to the owl's leg.

As they were walking past, they found themselves walking along the same corridor as Hagrid, the giant who had escorted them to Hogwarts. Harry had heard that he was the groundskeeper. Suddenly, Hagrid turned to them and spoke.

"Now, yeh there" he said "Yeh wouldn't happen to be Harry Potter, would yeh?"

Authors Note: **Comments and reviews are always welcome.**


	11. Chapter 10

"Yes, yes I am" said Harry. It seemed that everywhere he went in this school, people were interested in him. He wasn't sure whether to find that flattering or uncomfortable. Coming from a giant who looked like the wild man of the woods, he definitely found it more uncomfortable.

"Ah knew it!" said Hagrid "The moment I saw yeh. Yeh look jus like yeh dad but yeh got yeh mum's eyes"

"You knew my parents?" Harry replied. A lot of people knew _about_ his parents but he'd never gotten much from the people who actually knew them. Aunt Petunia didn't much like to talk about it and he'd not spoken to Dumbledore since the trip to Diagon Alley. Perhaps Hagrid might be able to tell him something.

"I did" replied Hagrid "Lily an' James Potter. Two o' the best wizards an' witches yeh could ever meet. Everyone liked 'em"

"I don't know much about them" Harry admitted. It was true – he'd heard a lot about how they died but very little about how they lived.

"Yeh don' know anything 'bout yeh parents?" Hagrid replied incredulously "ev'ry child in the discarding world knows"

"I know what happened to them" said Harry " but I don't know much else"

"Well I'd be happy to tell yeh" said Hagrid "why don't yeh come down to my hut sometime an' I'll let yeh know"

"That'd he nice" said Harry "but I'd better be going now"

As Harry climbed the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower he wondered if he'd made the right decision. Hagrid had seemed nice but his appearance still made Harry a little uneasy.

As he entered the Common Room he searched for his friends. He found Ron and Mandy playing Chess at one of the tables and Hermione sat in an armchair reading a book. Mandy turned to look at him as he entered – this gave Ron the opportunity he needed.

"Knight to king four" said Ron "Checkmate!"

"That's not very fair" said Mandy "you waited till I was distracted"

"Not much you could have done if you weren't" replied a smirking Ron "Hi Harry"

"Hi Ron, Hi Mandy" said Harry "hi Hermione". Hermione put her book down and looked at him.

"What's been keeping you?" she asked.

"I ran into somebody" he replied "you remember the really big man with the West Country accent who took us across the lake?"

She nodded and so he continued " I ran into him on my way back. He says he used to know my parents"

"You mean Hagrid?" Asked Ron. The others all looked at him. "He probably did. He's been at the school since forever. Charlie got on really well with him."

"Why is he so big?" Asked Harry " I mean most wizards aren't that big and I don't think many Muggles are either"

Ron just shrugged " I dunno . Maybe he got on the wrong end of a spell when he was little. Fred and George heard something about an experimental growth charm"

Something about that sentence stuck out to Harry " Hang on a minute, wizards do experiments? Like, science experiments?"

"What's a science?" Asked Ron.

"I think they do" replied Hermione " A History of Magic talks about experiments all the time. They don't say what they're trying to learn or how though"

"They wouldn't" Mandy interjected " my mum works at some experimenting place. I remember her telling dad that she wasn't allowed to say anything about what she was working on"

This gave Harry a thought. If wizards could learn about magic through experiments, then maybe it was just another part of science ,not something different. Maybe he could learn what magic really was and Where it really came from. Maybe the library had something to offer.

He was suddenly filled with an insatiable curiosity. He left after a few minutes ,much to the confusion of his friends and sister.

He set out to find his way towards the library. He had learned how to navigate Hogwarts more easily but he was still very new to this and unlike on many previous occasions he did not have Hermione to guide him. Still, he felt he was making good time. He made sure to avoid Filch and smiled at Professor Quirrell as he passed.

It was not long afterwards that something began to go wrong.

The roof of the corridor was held up by a number of great stone pillars. Suddenly, Harry began to hear a rumbling noise coming from close by him. He instinctively turned away from the source. When he looked back, he saw that the pillar had cracks in it. Cracks that were spreading rapidly.

Harry turned to run away, just as the pillar snapped in half and prepare to topple over him.


	12. Chapter 11

Author's Note: It's been a while, hasn't it?

Harry found himself overtaken by raw, animal terror. He ran as fast as he possibly could, desperate to escape from the toppling pillar. But the pillar was so large and it was falling so fast, that it seemed impossible to escape it in time. Even as Harry ran, the only coherent thought he could muster was that this was surely his last moment. Sure enough, he felt like it had only been seconds since he started running that be could fell the air rush as the pillar was inches from his head. He expected that at any moment he would feel it hitting his head and flattening him.

Yet the moment never came. Harry was so consumed by adrenaline that it wasn't until a few moments later that he realised that the pillar had stayed in that position for quite a while and was no closer to crushing him. In any event, he had managed to escape it's reach by now, so he felt safe enough to look back. What he saw was quite incredible. The pillar was suspended in midair, just above where his head had been. Behind him he saw the headmaster, pointing his wand directly at the pillar, with a look of great concentration on his face. Harry breathed the biggest sigh of relief in his life- Dumbledore had saved him. It was only a moment before Dumbledore began to wave his wand violently and the pillar began to move again. It rose as quickly as it had fallen and rejoined the fragment that had remained attached to the ceiling. Dumbledore left and before long the stunned students had resumed their activities as if nothing had happened.

That was not an option for Harry. His heart was still beating like it was about to burst out of his chest, he had only just stopped panting and his skin was slick with sweat. Never before had he come so close to death. He had sometimes come close to injuring himself but Uncle Henry and Aunt Petunia had always kept a close eye on him. Still, there was something oddly pleasant about how he was feeling. It was like being on a rollercoaster, only a thousand times scarier.

Harry wasn't quite sure what to do next. He really didn't feel like going to the library anymore but on the other hand he had been quite determined to go. And Hermione was sure to fuss like mad once she heard about it. After a few minutes of deliberation, he decided to head back to Ravenclaw Tower. He would have to go back sooner or later and he thought he might as well get it over with. Besides, the corridors had abruptly started to feel a lot less safe.

He had barely made it past the riddle at the door before he found himself being hit with full force by a bushy-haired object travelling extremely fast. Hermione held on tight and didn't let go.

"Oh Harry" she said " I was so worried. I heard you were in some kind of accident?"

Harry briefly struggled to disentangle himself from her grip but decided it was probably better to persuade her to let her go. "It was nothing serious, just a bit of old castle falling down" he reassured her " I'm fine, honestly"

"Nothing serious?" Interjected Ron, as Harry frantically motioned for him to stop talking " I heard you almost died! What the hell happened?"

"Well you heard wrong, Ron" said Harry, in an exasperated tone " One of the pillars fell over but it never came anywhere near me" Harry thought that it would probably be best not to worry anyone. Besides, if Hermione knew that he'd been in serious danger, she'd probably write to his aunt and uncle. That was a can of worms he did not want to open.

Harry felt himself stumble a bit as Hermione suddenly let go of him. "Did you say one of the pillars collapsed? She said in a sceptical voice.

"Yes?" Harry replied. He didn't know where this was going.

"That's supposed to be impossible" she continued "According to Hogwarts :A History, the whole castle is supported by magic. The most important parts of the castle should be immune to natural damage"

"Maybe the magic on that pillar was a bit wonky" said Ron " Or maybe it's gone wonky. It's been a thousand years after all"

"Maybe" said Hermione. She didn't sound convinced.

It was not long, though before they encountered something which would take their minds entirely off stone pillars. The next day Harry woke up to find a notice pinned to the Common Room board: flying lessons would be starting on Thursday.

This news had something of a mixed reception among those at Hogwarts. Ron was very excited indeed, having flown a little at home and glad to have the opportunity to do it properly. Ron's enthusiasm was infectious and Harry soon found himself wondering what it would be like to soar through the air like a bird, feeling the wind rushing on his bare skin, looking down at the people below...

Unfortunately Draco Malfoy was no less enthusiastic about flying. His long, boastful stories of his flights were a constant and unwelcome presence.

"He's making it all up, I'd bet you any money" said Ron on Wednesday morning, as Malfoy's gloating tones drifted over from the Slytherin table. "Nobody's got that many flying stories"

"Oh Merlin, yes" interjected Mandy "They all end with him being chased by Muggles on helicopters. You'd think Mr. Malfoy would have taught him not to let the Muggles see him"

"I dunno" said Ron "from what my dad's told me, old Lucius Malfoy's the biggest Muggle-hater since You-Know-Who"

Harry was only half listening to their conversation. He had noticed that Hermione was looking rather pale and was rather obsessively clutching a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages. "You alright, Hermione?" He said. Hermione nodded but said nothing.

"I know what's wrong" declared Mandy. She turned to face Hermione "you're worried about flying right?" Hermione seemed for a moment as if she was struggling to find something to say but finally relented. "Yes" said Hermione " I've read as many books as I can find about it but none of them really tell you how to do it"

Ron spoke "flying's not really something you can learn from a book, Hermione. You've got to just do it. Trust me, once you're in the air, it'll all be easy" Hermione looked as if she wasn't sure whether to be comforted or even more worried- the idea of something that you couldn't learn from a book didn't come naturally to her.

The next morning, they would find out the truth of Ron's words. Flying lessons would begin immediately after breakfast. Hermione seemed less nervous now but she was insisting upon telling them everything she'd learned from Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry was just glad they wouldn't be having the lesson with the Slytherins- at least if he made a fool of himself on a broomstick, Malfoy wouldn't be there to see it.

The weather was cool and breezy as the Ravenclaws made their way to the grounds to begin their lesson. Already waiting for them were 23 broomsticks. Michael Corner and Terry Boot both stood next to one each and most of the other Ravenclaws followed, so Harry, Ron and Hermione followed them and stood next to Mandy. It was not long before the Hufflepuffs arrived. One of them, a boy with curly dark hair, walked towards Harry.

"Hello" said the curly haired boy, as he shook Harry's hand."I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley. Know who you are, of course" he said, as his eyes flicked upwards to Harry's scar. He had a plummy, upper class accent, like one of the newsreaders on TV.

"Hi" said Harry, rather sheepishly. Celebrity took a lot of getting used to. He remembered that he was standing with his friends and thought he probably ought to introduce them. "Um, this is Ron, Mandy, and Hermione, she's my sister" he said pointing to each of them in turn.

"Oh, really?" said Justin, looking rather taken aback "I didn't know you had a sister"

"He's adopted" interjected Ron, with a little less tact than Harry would have liked.

"All the same, it's great to be learning magic, isn't it?" Said Justin " can you believe we're actually going to learn how to fly? My parents put my down for Eton at first but this is so-"

Justin was cut off by the arrival of the instrument, Madam Hooch, a wiry middle aged woman with eyes that reminded Harry of a hawk. She barked at those Hufflepuffs without broomstick to find one.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom" called Madam Hooch "and shout UP!"

The entire class shouted "UP" back but most of the brooms stayed firmly on the ground. Harry's was one of the few to shoot up into his hand. Even Hermione's only rolled over on the ground. Madam Hooch walked through the row, correcting the student's grip and showing them how to mount their brooms without falling off.

Once she was satisfied with everyone's handling of their brooms, she began instructing them on how to take off.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard" Madam Hooch instructed "'Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle – three – two - one"

Harry kicked off from the ground and with a sudden thrill, he realised that it was easy. Ron was right- you didn't learn how to fly. This was something he could do without thinking and it was over all too soon.

As the lesson went on, they would be taught the slightly more advanced forms of flying, going higher and making more elaborate manoeuvres. Harry found himself able to master each of the different forms with ease and each time was only barely able to restrain himself from going just a little bit higher. The others performed differently- Hermione still seemed terrified to leave the ground, Ron was competent but not spectacular and Mandy was slow and cautious but quickly warmed to it. Harry had a feeling he was going to like flying.


End file.
